Florida is a homeschool friendly state and offers families multiple methods to choose from, ranging from partnering with online programs to creating custom curriculum and schedules. Families must notify the local school superintendent of their intentions and abide by the requirements outlined by the state and their county of residence which typically include some form of documentation. The purpose is to ensure that children are receiving a standard level of education so they can be competitive when applying for college or re-enter the traditional school system should the family decide to take that path at a later time.

When families choose to build their own curriculum and home education, they are responsible for keeping what is typically called a portfolio. There are no specific guidelines that annotate what this should or should not look like so parents can find a method that works for them and their student(s). It can be in a 3-ring binder, an accordion file with labels or even kept electronically but it must be accessible for a yearly review, or when called upon, to be audited. Examples of school assignments, tests and projects are kept in the portfolio along with a list of subjects that are included in the daily study course, teaching summaries and content table of what is in the portfolio.

  • There are two ways to avoid getting overwhelmed by this process: keep up with it on a regular basis or partner with the best homeschool in Florida that keeps track of the documentation for you. The latter option is a guaranteed administration service when parents choose to enroll their students in a formal online home education program through the public-school system or a private school. For online students, the school of record uses the submitted assignments and exams to create a progress report, quarterly report card and high school transcripts. Elementary students that utilize print curriculum will need some of their work submitted to the school for verification and assistance with the grading and records. The process is simple, easy and effective because it can be downloaded at any time, if required, to show proof of the student’s education level and progress.
  • In addition to showing how the child is doing in their coursework, documentation is critical when building a transcript or portfolio to send to colleges as part of the admissions process. Every state varies on their requirements and if the student plans on going out of state for college, then parents need to research this in advance to avoid complications and possible rejection. The best homeschool program in Florida makes it easy to keep the records, request copies and submit them to the university of choice and the best part is, they look exactly like those that a traditional student would receive. After all the hard work the student puts into completing their education, it’s important to have the administration component taken care of ahead of time.
  • Parents who have homeschooled for several years recommend keeping a portfolio even if not required or if the documentation is being kept by someone else. The reason is so that everyone, including the student, can see the progress they have made in each grade and have a tangible way of showing others what they have accomplished as a homeschool student. They can be kept similar to scrapbooks where pictures, copies or the actual paper is kept in a safe place and organized by year and subject with each student having their own binder or book to keep. It helps to satisfy any changing requirements if proof is needed, but more importantly it gives students something to look at when they need encouragement or to see how far they have come.
  • Lastly, documentation is helpful to new parents who are considering homeschooling as an option or are just getting started into homeschooling and need some ideas on how to handle this part of the process.  While the best homeschool program in Florida will take care of it for the parent, it’s always a good idea to have a backup for the reasons named above or just in case the family decides to move, take a different route or needs the extra records for another purpose.

The first step is deciding which approach to homeschooling is right for your family, then you can determine which documentation method is applicable. From there, the research can easily be done on the Internet if approaching from a custom-base technique or sit back and let the online program take care of it so parents can focus on being an encouragement and support system for their students. Either way, documentation is just as important as curriculum, the online portal, study time and working with kids so they get the best homeschool in Florida and can accomplish their dreams.